Untitled Quiz

Problem-Solving Skills

• Effectively identifying and defining issues, determining solutions, weighing outcomes, and applying the best actions to resolve issues.
• Decision-making skills involve deciding on a course of action based on risk assessment.
• Questions for decision-making should include the decision's purpose, desired outcomes, time constraints, importance, and stakeholders involved.
• Analytical skills are the ability to synthesize information and data.
• Analytical skills involves being observant, understanding how things function, seeking mental stimulation, and using focused reasoning.
• Critical thinking skills encompass making independent and reflective analyses and evaluations.
• Critical thinking skills can be enhanced through clarifying questions, data and evidence analysis, and self-assessment of thought processes.
• Creative thinking involves thinking innovatively with a fresh perspective.
• Creative thinking skills are improved by finding innovative solutions, challenging perspectives, seeking diverse viewpoints, and learning from others' problem-solving approaches.

Communication Skills in Problem-Solving

• Effectively articulating issues to the audience.
• Using the right communications channels when seeking help, sharing info, or implementing a fix.
• During problem-solving, focus on the issue, seek issue clarity, stay present, avoid past biases, seek common ground, and respect others' approaches.
• A whole-brain approach uses analytical, intuitive-creative, systematic, and experimental thinking.
• An approach is a theory or steps toward a goal, a technique is a specific tool, and a method applies the approach with rules and instructions.

Obstacles and Improvements in Problem-Solving

• Obstacles prevent one from finding solutions.
• Internal obstacles are mood, perspective, and assumptions.
• External obstacles arise from physical, environmental, or cultural influences.
• Awareness, new habits, and different approaches help to overcome obstacles.
• Strategies to improve problem-solving include identifying biases, showing empathy, expanding knowledge, taking breaks, and using structured methods.
• Cognitive bias refers to flaws in thinking that impede sound decisions.
• Cognitive bias can hinder the selection of the best problem-solving strategy.
• Empathetic problem-solving demonstrates understanding of the other person's perspective.
• Basic psychological needs include autonomy, competence, and relatedness.
• Enhancing expertise involves professional development, industry groups, self-development, and knowledge-sharing.
• Distractor breaks allows the mind to make connections.

Troubleshooting Skills and Steps

• Troubleshooting systematically identifies failures to effectively fix issues.
• A "can-do" attitude in troubleshooting shows willingness to serve and a positive mindset.
• Humanizing it involves empathy and personal interaction.
• Effective active listening involves giving full attention to the stakeholder.
• Acknowledging provides verbal/non-verbal cues, showing engagement.
• Paraphrasing is restating what was said for clarity, building trust and understanding.
• An incident is an unplanned interruption or reduced quality of service.
• The steps for effective troubleshooting involve issue identification, investigation, solution testing, implementation, and documentation.
• A logical, systematic process assists in providing a starting point and in following a sequence.
• Activities to be done in step 1 involves assessing impact, stakeholder questioning, issue recreation, determining changes, capturing context, and documenting the process.
• Key questions include business impact, urgency, and work stoppage.
• Activities in step 2 involves paraphrasing, brainstorming, prioritizing solutions, and searching the knowledge base.
• Testing solutions involves working from the most to least likely and searching for quick fixes.
• After confirming a solution, proceed to the subsequent step.
• If a solution fails, repeat steps two or one.
• UFFA (use it, fix it, flag it, add it) involves using, improving, flagging, or adding a knowledge article to address the issue.
• Step 4 includes implementing, verifying, and confirming a problem is resolved.
• Thorough documentation includes findings, actions, standard terms, and steps taken.
• The issue is marked as resolved post stakeholder satisfaction.
• Documentation helps resolve known issues faster and improves support center productivity.
• Challenges in troubleshooting include multiple queues, bouncing around support levels, backlogged workloads, and poor knowledge sharing.

Swarming

• Swarming is a collaborative support which combines diverse perspectives, and encourages cross-functional teamwork.
• When troubleshooting with swarming, a team isolates an issue, then escalates as needed or resolves it collaboratively.
• Swarming becomes useful when needed and requires effective collaboration.

Structured Problem-Solving Approach

• A problem is defined as an issue with an unknown cause.
• Structured problem-solving systematically advances from problem identification to its resolution.
• Using a structured approach means focusing on the real issue, not symptoms.
• Structured problem-solving benefits include reduced downtime, consistency, effective solutions to complex problems, eliminating repetitive incidents, and improved skills and customer experience.
• Reactive problem-solving addresses disruptions whereas proactive identifies potential issues.
• The four phases of this approach include problem, solution identification, implementation, and evaluation.
• Problem identification accurately names the problem.
• Solution identification finds cost-effective and optimal solutions.
• Solution implementation develops a plan for proper execution.
• Evaluation measures success and develops strategies for future prevention.
• Common pitfalls include taking too long, wrong outcomes, incorrect solutions, high costs, the wrong mindset, and lack of input.
• Poor assumptions, creativity, team management, and narrow focus create problems.
• Fixating on a solution or missing documentation may create issues.
• Phase 1 includes identifying the problem, gathering data, finding causes, and confirming the most probable cause.
• A problem statement gives a focal point regarding scope, location, time, and impact.
• Gathering info uses previously covered questioning techniques, logs, incidents, configuration data, and observation.
• Discovery leads to full problem understanding and possible cause identification.
• Identifying possible causes involves a comprehensive list of potential causes.
• Thorough analysis and evidence confirms the cause prior to narrowing the list.
• Confirmation aims to be accurate and agreed upon, requiring consensus in complex problems.

Solution Identification & Implementation Phases

• The activities in phase 2 of the structured problem-solving involve identifying solutions, information gathering, analyzing possible solutions, and selecting the most probable solution.
• Solution identification involves brainstorming, and assembling a solution team if required.
• Gathering information includes investigating all possible solutions and weighing benefits.
• Analyzing potential solutions means assessing them to ensure they are appropriate.
• Selection of solutions means considering the risks of both action and inaction while choosing the most cost-effective options.
• Solution complexity dictates whether selection involves business or customer input.
• During implementation, developing a plan with defined KPI's for solution implementation is critical.

Evaluation Phase and Problem-Solving Techniques

• In the evaluation phase, measure results, confirm the solution, and avoid repetition.
• Measuring results checks KPIs and environmental return to normal.
• If unsuccessful, evaluate a cross-functional team or use the structured approach for a new solution.
• Clearly defined and measurable KPIs are critical.
• The activity of confirming a solution involves ensuring stakeholders agree and communicating effectively.
• To avoid repeat problems, manage expectations and improve infrastructure, processes, skills, and resources.
• Structured techniques should be used to perform root cause analysis
• Problem-solving techniques help with root cause analysis, identifying potential causes and eliminating to find the root cause.
• These should be used when data is being gathered or when information is being investigated or analyzed.

Questioning Skills

• Open questions gather details, closed questions focus on specifics, probing questions clarify, funnel questions narrow down, leading questions guide responses, and recall questions address past events.
• Effective questioning skills identify issues, find solutions, connect with stakeholders, confirm priorities, isolate the issue, explore diagnoses, prevent distractions, and expedite solutions.
• When and What defines the stakeholders involved
• Five W's: Who, What, When, Where and Why; along with How, are used in the structured questioning technique to determine the stakeholders involved.
• When, where, and Why defines the functions, the timeframe and the logistics.
• List questions for the WHO are, who is affected, involved, benefits, can help, is experiencing the issue
• Questions for the WHAT are, what we need to know about the issue, happened before the issue, do we want to achieve by solving the issue, what would happen if we could not find a solution

Questioning and Root Cause Analysis

• Questions to ask in WHEN is, when does the issue first occur, not occur, when did the issue happen
• Questions associated with WHERE includes: Where is the issue occurring/not occurring and where will the issue impact/not impact
• Questions to ask in WHY are, why did the failure occur, do we need a resolution
• Questions associated with HOW are, how is the issue different.
• Using the Five W's, ensure the investigation is thorough and doesn't focus too quickly.
• Root cause analysis (RCA) identifies why the problem first happened.
• The actual cause of a specific problem or set of problems are identified, not the symptoms.
• During RCA, the goal is to determine what happened, why, and how to eliminate recurrence.
• Cause and effect involves the reasoning, versus the result.
• A causal factor is the multiple events that contributed to the undesired outcome.
• Steps in the RCA process includes, identify the problem, collect data, analyze the problem, develop a plan, implement, observe and document the steps.

Brainstorming

• It gathers knowledge and expertise to generate ideas
• Brainstorming involves necessary stakeholders, and sparks creativity
• People tend to provide comments, start discussion, or judge ideas during the free-flow sharing, which inhibits the participation of others.
• The eight tips during brainstorming, have a strict rotation and allow people to pass on their turn, while deterring criticism which defers judgements. Capture everything in a visible format and allow free flow towards the end.
• Nominal Group Technique identifies a problem, generates solutions, and makes decisions through independent and anonymous work.
• Nominal Group Technique works with strong personalities in groups that dominate.
• Crawford Slip records ideas on index cards to collect ideas in a silent manner.
• Brainstorming is helpful to use in generating creative ideas.

Structured Investigation Techniques

• The Five Why's technique gathers info, tackling the root cause.
• Persistence is key when asking why to find the origin.
• Implement solutions and document follow-ups when identifying a cause.
• The Five Why technique is helpful when multiple symptoms persist, and there is a need to identify the root cause.
• The Ishikawa Diagram/Fishbone helps organize and analyze data.
• A benefit to using Ishikawa diagrams, is that information is in a logical format which narrows down potential causes.
• The creation of the Fishbone diagram involves identifying the effect as the problem, and draw a horizontal line from the fishes head, followed by the bodies.
• Ishikawa diagrams provides analysis to the cause of an effect.
• With affinity diagrams, large amounts of data can be organized to consolidate information.
• Group development among complex issues takes consensus is built.
• To use the diagrams, review state the issue, record ideas, discuss ideas and identify analysis.
• Pareto Analysis prioritized problems, which identifies the vital few based on the 80/20 rule.
• To conducts Pareto, identifying the listed count is arranged from failures, which descends from highest to lowest.

Charting, Analysis, & Methods

• Pareto charts focus on effort and resources to maximize efficiency.
• Flow charts assesses gathers data and visually puts together the events.
• Use the same charting when listing the basic procedures.
• The event of the chart is a real time of occurence and condition.
• Barriers should be in place to prevent the outcome.
• To illustrate use the chart, use sequenced events must be performed.
• Select from multiple methods, to get the appropriate tool and task at and to complete the steps and achieve to reach a solution.
• Appreciative Inquiry (AI) is an analytical method, used to create change to the organization's strengths.
• The five D's helps to define or discover the situations and positive questions.
• The design can provide thinking, processes and plans which makes the dream/vision come to life.
• Determine the best approach for improvement leveraging the current strengths.
• With chronical analysis, a problem solving method can be investigated on what was, is and will be.
• Chronical analysis is best applied when dependencies are identified.

Checklist & Comparative Analysis

• CATWOE assesses many viewpoints to find a solution.
• Six aspects of CATWOE: Customers, Actors, World View, Transformation process and Owners.
• One must consider who is respnsible or owns for completing and implementing an environmental solution.
• CATWOE is useful when prompting, identifying a problem.
• The Kepner-Tregoe (KT) method combines brainstorming techniques with a structure.
• The four KT processes are situational, the problems, the decisions to be made, and possible problems.

Structured Problem-Solving & Analysis

• Situational Appraisals confirms the problems and concerns for clarification,.
• Problem Analysis explores characteristics and relationships to the cause of the issue.
• Decision Analysis uses the rating criteria to meet criteria and select the best solution.
• Potential Problem Analysis anticipates and manages a plan to be proactive with risks and opportunities.
• This method is used when many potentials causes are at play and need to be managed.